What a way to begin 2007! A new Congress, and of course a new Speaker of the House! Of course it was a woman from California who broke that ceiling! Right on, Madam Speaker! (don't you just love that photo!)

Is this the beginning of fundamental changes in American politics? Maybe. All I know is that Speaker Pelosi is smart, tough, and not afraid to fight for the ordinary citizen and for what she believes in. That's more than I can say for most of the men before her. We here in the San... read more

These last few months seem rather crowded with natural disasters. The earthquake in Pakistan/Kashmir, mudflows in Guatemala, floods in New Hampshire and of course, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

No, I don't believe we're entering the "end times." That's too simple (not to mention completely unscientific!) an explanation--I think that what we're experiencing are normal earth processes; they just happened to occur close together in time. Interestingly, many scientists are saying (and I ag... read more

Well, just about everyone (including our esteemed President!) is talking about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the lack of prompt, organized, emergency response. I may not know much about organizing, coordinating, and implementing emergency response plans, but I do know a little about natural disasters. Hurricanes are among the few natural disasters (unlike earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, to name a couple) where it is possible to watch the progression of a storm from a mere trop... read more

Spent part of last weekend in Las Vegas at the Star Trek Convention. Met some really cool people, did some typical fan stuff (photos, autographs), and spent waaay too much money. It was worth it, and I'd do it again....except the long drive back and forth, and I'll bring my good camera next time (see photo).

For beautiful views of the SF Bay and some of the coolest geology around, head to Mt Tamalpais and trudge around the network of hiking trails. I spent saturday hiking around with fellow geologists (and friends) stopping frequently to examine rocks of the Franciscan Complex: serpentinite, graywacke, "pillow" basalts, sandstone, shale, siltstone and chert. We discussed the processes which might have been at work during subduction, which formed the Franciscan Complex, using the modern analog ... read more